Curriculum - Weaving Content Process

The what of curriculum is the content that is the focus of the learning program. This includes, for example, the knowledge and skills to be gained. But education is not simply a matter of directly acquiring content. How we learn something - the process we engage in as a means to learning - has implications for what we actually learn. In particular, the process of learning affects our attitudes about what learning is and our capacities as learners. For example, when learning primarily entails a process of rote memorization, then learners develop attitudes of passivity and deference to external authority.

As trade unionists we know the importance of process in education. We know that countless workers have suffered injuries to their self- esteem as a result of schooling experiences that did not acknowledge, value and build on who they were and what they already knew. As we saw earlier, the principles of trade union education call attention to process. Indeed, trade union education principles are process principles, calling for a process that is participatory, inclusive and deeply democratic in both its aims and its methods; acknowledges and builds on the experiences and skills of workers; involves hearts as well as minds; promotes solidarity and respect among workers; enhances workers' capacities for critical reflection and action; and links education with action in the world in a project of social transformation. (See box pg.4)

In regard to this vital issue of the process of education, Paulo Freire made a distinction between what he called the banking approach, which aims at the transmission of information, and a problem-posing approach, which aims at engaging participants in a process of action and reflection. Our definition of literacy as critical reflection and action calls for curriculum that incorporates a problem-posing rather than a banking approach to process.